Behind Enemy Lines: N.Y. Jets

New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan reacts after quarterback Mark Sanchez fumbled and New England Patriots' Steve Gregory returned it for a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

It has been a rough seven weeks for the Arizona Cardinals.

After starting the season 4-0, the Cardinals have collapsed and find themselves with a disappointing 4-7 record.

Hope lives, though, as this week Arizona hits the road to visit one of the most dysfunctional team in the NFL in the New York Jets.

The Jets' season has been filled with quarterback controversy, a head coach fighting for his job and disarray in locker room. To call it chaotic would be an understatement.

This week could be as good of time as ever for the Cardinals to finally capture their fifth win of the season.

Every bad team has at least a little bit of good. Inside every losing team's locker room are at least a few winners. For the Jets, second-year defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson is one of those players.

Tim Tebow barely has had an effect on the Jets' offense all season long, but this week he'll likely manage to be even more of a nonfactor. A source told the Daily News it was highly doubtful that Tebow, recovering from fractured ribs, would be active for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

It doesn't look good for Tim Tebow suiting up Sunday. As for the starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez's position Red Ryan said that despite a couple of "boneheaded" plays, Sanchez still is improving and still the right man for the job for the struggling Jets.

"I think our biggest thing that we need to do offensively is protect the football," Jets Coach Rex Ryan said. "There's other things we're making strides in, but obviously we have to protect the football. You turn it over five times, you're not going to beat anybody."

"I had a conversation with Bart, and what I said I'll (stand) behind: That our fans deserve better," Ryan said. "And I was the first guy that would say that. With us, what I mentioned to Bart, you have to appreciate the fans. The thing that makes this game so great is the players and the fans, and that's the truth."

Rex Ryan does not do concession speeches.The Jets coach refuses to admit his defense is bound to finish outside of the top five in the NFL for the first time during his tenure. The unit is currently ranked 19th with five games left, allowing an average of 354.1 yards a game.

The Jets have 17 total sacks -- a half-sack more than 49ers defensive end Aldon Smith, the NFL's individual leader. Rex Ryan called their pass-rush production -- or lack thereof -- "alarming" and "stunning."

It may not matter if Mark Sanchez shows up for the Jets at this point, but they still need to know if hes their future. This Sunday against the Cardinals represents a chance for him to redeem his season. The

"We feel great. We love our chances. We've got a special group," Sanchez told David Satriano of the New York Post. "We'll keep fighting and trying to win some games here. We will do our best. We're just taking it one game at a time."

The Jets never put in a claim for former Eagles defensive end Jason Babin. That might come as a shock to some Jets fans, considering Rex Ryan has spent the past few weeks talking about the need for an improved pass rush.

"At the end of the day, if you made it to be able to put an NFL uniform on, then you are one of the best athletes in the world," Scott told the Daily News. "The person yelling at you probably was picked last in dodge ball all through high school. So do you care about the opinion of them? No."

The Cardinals, Jaguars, Titans, Chargers and Bills are five of the select teams around the league who have an argument that they have worse situations than the Jets and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Jets as favorites in each of those games. Beat the Patriots and anything was possible, or so went the argument.

New York is 4-7 and coming off a Thanksgiving Day beat down at the hands of the New England Patriots, but talk of players jumping ship is premature. Defensive lineman Mike DeVito said this week there's plenty of support for Rex Ryan inside the locker room. Nobody is sending their coach down the river.

The Jets waived G Hayworth Hicks, who spent three weeks on the 53-man roster but didn't dress for a single game. GM Mike Tannenbaum, known for his bottom-of-the-roster tweaking, signed Hicks on Nov. 7 from the Colts' practice squad.

For the sake of take-away images, the holiday weekend began at MetLife Stadium with Mark Sanchez running into the backside of a Jets offensive lineman and immediately becoming the butt of N.F.L. jokes nationwide. It ended with Eli Manning lowering his throwing shoulder into a Green Bay cornerback and emerging heroically for an act of aggression that under less fortunate circumstances would have left him scorned for not figuratively using his head.

Though it seems many Jets fans aren't particularly torn up over Fireman Ed's "resignation," Rex Ryan said he will miss the Jets' superfan. "I love that guy's passion and the energy that he would bring," said Ryan, who said he was "disappointed" when he heard the news.

The Jets returned to work yesterday trying to shake off the Thanksgiving beatdown from the Patriots and shift their focus to the Cardinals, who come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday for a showdown between 4-7 teams.

What is ahead for the Jets? Five games that could go either way. The 4-7 Jets aren't a good football team at the moment and they won't line up against a good football team before 2013. But you have to go back a full calendar year to find the last time the Jets won in consecutive weeks as they had a three-game victory streak from Week 12-Week 14, disposing of Buffalo, Washington and Kansas City.